Hundreds of families and educators from all types of K-12 schooling options will celebrate the excellence, variety and opportunity school choice provides at a rally in downtown Albuquerque.

The event, planned for January 26 at 11:00 a.m., will feature student performances and speakers, Native American dance performances, and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. More than 600 people are expected to attend the event at the Albuquerque Convention Center & Civic Plaza.

The goal of the event is to spotlight educational options for New Mexico students and tell student success stories. The celebration is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 21-27, 2018), which will feature more than 32,000 events across the country.

“Across the state of New Mexico every parent should be in the driver’s seat of their child’s educational experience,” said Education Secretary-Designate Christopher Ruszkowski. “Part of the American Dream is having freedom and choices—and families deserve to have the ability to choose from many high-quality school options regardless of socioeconomic status or background. High-quality charter school options have certainly proven to be a pathway to academic and life success for many students and families in New Mexico, and we should be championing and scaling best practices found in some of our most innovative charter schools across the Land of Enchantment.”

Event planners include New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools, New Mexico Public Education Department, and New Mexico CAN.

Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child. Through more than 32,000 independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.